PRELUDE, February 2001



FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

TIME FOR ANOTHER TEA PARTY?

In the early days of our Republic, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that one of the foundations of democracy in America was our enthusiasm for voluntary organizations: churches, charities, and civic groups which banded together to improve both our citizens and our communities. We also have valued the separation of church and state. My great-great-great-great-great-great- grandmother, Hannah Goodhue, went to jail when the king's judge tried to tell her community that it could not build its own church and call its own pastor. She and the other women of Essex won their town's right to worship without interference from government.

Religious organizations and other not-for-profits generally have been exempted from taxation throughout the history of our nation for two fundamental reasons:

Lately, though, politicians who have been fiscally imprudent but remain unwilling to enact comprehensive tax reform often have sought to suck money out of churches and synagogues.

A case in point is Nassau County's denial of tax-exempt status to the parsonages which house all but one of the pastors at Word of Life Ministries, a very large independent church in Freeport.

Do you really want elected officials telling you how many clergy your church, synagogue, or temple needs? Do you want to let them judge your clergy by different standards than those applied to the church down the block. Do you think you'll vote for them again if they do?

Maybe the root of this trouble is the over-reliance of local government on such an inherently unfair and regressive form of taxation as the property tax, and our leaders need to establish a more equitable and efficient way of paying our collective bills. In the meantime, it would be wise for any politician to think twice before taxing a congregation. More than two centuries ago the ladies of Edenton, North Carolina, gave up tea rather than pay a tax they considered unfair. Not much later, their rowdy brethren in Boston took matters a little further: their tea party started a revolution.

Shalom,

Tom



IDEAS YOU CAN USE

Talk to the Deaf:
St. David's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Massapequa Park not only has a sign-interpreter at their 8:30 A.M. worship service every Sunday, they also have e-mail and a TTY device hooked up to their fax line, so that the deaf can communicate with pastors Larry & Susan Smith and others in the church office. For more information on how they have managed to do all this, call 516-799- 7832 (voice) or 516-799-9828 (fax/TTY).
Lay Participation:
St. Martin of Tours Church in Amityville, like many others, collects Christmas gifts for the poor, and they have found a nice way to incorporate these offerings into their worship: during an Advent service all who have brought presents are invited to carry them to the altar, following the ushers who have collected cash. During the Lord's Prayer at St. Martin's parishioners hold hands and raise their arms together, much as the early church did in parts of North Africa, emphasizing the collective nature of our discipleship. Last, ut not least, the church not only announces its blood drives in Sunday bulletins more than a month before the scheduled date, they also urge the flock to prepare, telling them, "Start now eating well, sleeping well, and taking good care of yourself." All of these increase the number of people who will be able to give "the gift of life."


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